[La Criella (Mass Binding).]

The moment I infused my mana and uttered the spell—

Flash!

Dozens of dazzlingly bright magic circles appeared before my eyes.

Fighting with blood splattering everywhere wasn’t my style. Besides, killing them one by one would take too much time.

[Crimiella, Astapotia (Annihilation).]

Let’s just handle them all at once.

After summoning the binding and destruction circles in sequence, I finally overlaid all these magical formulas and activated them. In that instant, a light so intense it pierced the eyes filled the room. Simultaneously, the agonized screams of the magical beasts penetrated not only my ears but my mind as well.

Screech!

‘Ah, that sound.’

A fierce gust of wind accompanied by white light swept over us, causing people to curl up protectively. I stood quietly at the front, staring ahead. My skirt fluttered noisily in the wind, but I paid it no mind. My focus remained entirely on the spell.

Swish…

The magic circles slowly descended, reducing the iron cages and magical beasts to dust. The creatures vanishing into a mass of darkness, seemingly pulverized, created a truly spectacular sight.

After several minutes passed, I snapped my fingers.

Click.

Swoosh—

The magic circles instantly sucked in the remains of the magical beasts and iron cages like a lion’s maw. The room, which had been chaotic just moments ago, became eerily quiet as though nothing had happened.

I dusted off my hands. Though I hadn’t actually dirtied them during the process, something still felt unsettling. Perhaps it was the sight of those magical beasts. While pondering this, someone suddenly murmured behind me.

“Who… who are you?”

At the question, I glanced back. Everyone was staring at me with shocked expressions. Some even looked at me with fear in their eyes.

I smiled slightly.

“Would you recognize me if I told you?”

“H-how did you…”

“I dealt with them using magic, so it’s safe now. The only question remaining is how we’re going to get out of here.”

In truth, getting out would be easier than dealing with the magical beasts. It might become difficult if black magic interfered, but judging by the attitude of those two fools earlier, that didn’t seem to be a major concern.

However…

‘I need to be careful. It would be troublesome if they have other companions. Besides, the black energy in my ring still hasn’t disappeared… huh?’

“What’s this?”

I raised my hand and inadvertently spoke aloud. The ring that had been swirling with black energy until just moments ago had returned to its normal state.

I was confused.

‘Could it be that this was because of the magical beasts? Does this ring also have the power to detect magical beasts? No, that can’t be right. Lerrhagen never mentioned anything like that.’

Nevertheless, the black energy within the ring had suddenly disappeared, and I wore a serious expression.

Soon after, deciding that wasting time here served no purpose, I turned around. I surveyed the room once more. Though the remains of the magical beasts had vanished, the environment remained unsuitable for prolonged stay.

Should I leave through the door I came in? But then I might encounter those two men again. While I wouldn’t mind, the people behind me absolutely shouldn’t face those men. If anyone collapsed or their legs gave way, it would be disastrous.

‘Tsk. I guess there’s no other choice.’

Ideally, I would have preferred to preserve this place and return later for investigation, but saving human lives took priority.

With that thought, I consoled myself for the missed opportunity. Just then, the boy from earlier spoke to me.

“S-sister, if you’re looking for a passage, th-there’s something over here.”

“Huh?”

“That’s right, child. Those men pointed at this spot before you came and said something was here.”

“Yes, I heard it too.”

“But what good is a passage if we can’t open it?”

“Still, maybe this little one might be able to open it…”

“Sister, can you open it?”

I moved toward where the boy was pointing. Though not clearly visible, I sensed something hidden within the wall.

However…

I knocked on the wall with my hand. Nothing special seemed apparent. I gathered a bit of mana at my fingertips and placed them against the wall.

If the door was locked, I could use a spell to open it. Just as I was thinking how simple this would be—

BANG!

“Kyaaaa!”

“W-what was that?!”

“Waaah, they’re back!”

“Hey, quiet down.”

I flinched at the sudden loud noise from outside.

What’s happening? What’s going on now?

‘This is bad. There’s a festival happening outside. If something’s happening out there, it means there’s a problem with the festival.’

Damn it.

If that were the case, those in danger wouldn’t just be the people here. I absolutely couldn’t allow mass casualties in the capital.

Regardless of whether the culprit behind all this was a noble or someone else, the moment harm came to ordinary people, it became a massive declaration of war against me.

With that thought, I gathered more mana in my hand, intending to break down the wall. But at that moment, another loud noise echoed, followed by a familiar voice.

“Aaaaargh!”

‘That sounds like the scream of those men from earlier.’

Moreover, the first—

Could it be that nothing happened to the festival, but rather…

CRASH!

Just then, before I could finish my thought, an enormous sound erupted from what seemed like right in front of us, and the previously intact wall suddenly collapsed.

“Ugh.”

I instinctively squinted. Contrary to my expectation of being showered with dust and debris, a mysterious, subtle barrier enveloped us protectively, leaving my surroundings relatively undisturbed.

‘Wait, a barrier?’

I blinked at the strangely familiar sensation.

‘No way.’

The wall fragments shattered upon hitting the barrier.

The thick dust and sand parted to the sides.

I stepped forward to get a better look at the approaching figure.

A large silhouette moved toward us.

I prepared to cast a defensive spell in case it was an enemy.

However, I felt no particular wariness.

Sure enough, when the figure fully revealed itself, my eyes widened.

The one who appeared amid the tremendous commotion was none other than Lerrhagen.

“Lo… Papa!”

Almost calling Lerrhagen by his name out of habit, I quickly corrected myself.

Lerrhagen turned his head toward me at the sound of my voice. However, at that moment, I flinched at the chilling tone directed at me.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

…?

He’s the one who smashed through the wall?

I wore a bewildered expression. Anyone could see that Lerrhagen himself had created this situation, yet he was the one who seemed angry.

I furrowed my brow at this contradictory situation. If anything, I should be the one asking what he was doing.

‘Wait, he’s angry?’

I studied Lerrhagen’s expression.

Though he neither raised his voice nor contorted his face, somehow his entire demeanor differed from usual.

I laughed nervously in confusion.

I’m the one in danger, so why…

“I believe I told you.”

“…?”

“Not to sacrifice yourself. That was the price for helping you.”

But I didn’t sacrifice myself?

I had simply recognized this as a trap aimed at me and deliberately fallen for it to gather information.

Besides, I had witnessed someone being dragged away right before my eyes, and there was even a possibility that the child with me might be in danger.

Of course, I realized something strange was happening after being brought here, but ultimately, I didn’t think I had done anything particularly reckless.

Moreover, I had confidence in my abilities. At the very least, surviving wasn’t an issue, even if I couldn’t escape unscathed.

However, Lerrhagen clearly didn’t share this perspective.

His blue eyes looked at me filled with emotions I had never seen in them before.

The intense anger flowing openly within them made me feel strangely unsettled.

In truth, I knew what I had done was quite dangerous. However, sometimes risks needed to be exchanged for certain outcomes, and certain adventures had to be undertaken.

For me, today’s situation was one such case.

‘I value my life too, so why treat me like a reckless person?’

If I were truly reckless, I would have stormed into Death Gorge by now.

“Someone was being kidnapped right in front of me.”

“Is that any of your concern?”

“No, what nonsense… I said someone was being dragged away right in front of me.”

“So you came here, disregarding even your own life?”

“No.”

I felt utterly frustrated.

Someone was being dragged away right in front of me! And I was the Emperor of Arsis, with power to act.

I held my forehead.

Right, Lerrhagen didn’t know the situation at the time, so he could react this way. I calmed my excitement and explained to him.

“They dragged someone away right in front of me. My ring showed black energy. I thought this was a provocation directed at me.”

“Then couldn’t you have called for others?”

“What if the kidnapped person died while I did that? In kidnapping cases, rescuing the hostage as quickly as possible is absolutely the best solution.”

Lerrhagen looked at me and tightened his lips. Yet the complex emotions reflected in his eyes were intensely profound.

I was the one who became confused by this.

Why is he acting this way?

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps my putting myself in danger was somewhat worrying from his perspective—though I couldn’t understand why he would worry.

But even so, barging in and immediately scolding me didn’t suit his character at all.